1. Wide shot of al-Maliki sitting in chair for interview 2. Tight shot of reporter taking notes 3. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister: "With regards to Blackwater this is also an issue related to sovereignty and the Iraqi citizen. The Iraqi government is responsible for its citizens. It cannot be accepted by an American security company to carry out carry out a killing. These are very serious challenges to the sovereignty of Iraq." 4. Mid shot reporters 5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister: "The government is an elected one and is sovereign. And when it is gives a visa it is responsible for the visa. We consider the arrest of this individual who holds an Iraqi visa and a passport to be unacceptable. This individual was in Sulaimaniyah at the invitation of the government of the province. If there are security concerns we are prepared to listen to the concerns from the American side and take the necessary measures." 6. Mid shot Maliki sitting in chair for interview 7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister: "What is important is that it did not come from the American administration or President Bush. That it comes from other areas, for other reasons is not the concern of mine. The important things is that the relationship between the Iraq government and the American administration is based on a foundation of respect and mutual confidence. Consequently, this is very normal. But for me, it means nothing it is not realistic. The government is born of the people and the elections." 8. Mid shot of Maliki greeting someone and walking away STORYLINE: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Sunday the shooting deaths of civilians allegedly at the hands of Blackwater USA guards and other prior incidents involving the company pose "serious challenges to the sovereignty of Iraq" and cannot be accepted. "The Iraqi government is responsible for its citizens and it cannot be accepted for a security company to carry out a killing," he told The Associated Press, speaking in his New York hotel suite ahead of his appearance at the U.N. General Assembly. Noting that Blackwater has been linked to at least seven incidents involving gunfire on Iraqi civilians, he added: "These are very serious challenges to the sovereignty of Iraq." However, al-Maliki left open the possibility that Iraq and the United States would work toward a solution to the problem of Blackwater. "We have coordinated with the American side to establish a joint committee to ascertain the facts and hold accountable" those responsible, he said. In the interview, al-Maliki defended his government and spoke up for the rights of Iraqis to manage their own affairs. He said that his country is making progress toward political reconciliation and that 2008 would be a year of reconciliation and reconstruction for Iraq. The September 16 killing of at least 11 civilians near a square in central Baghdad has highlighted the practices of foreign security contractors whose aggressive protection of Western diplomats and other dignitaries has long angered Iraqis. U.S.-Iraqi relations have been further strained by the U.S. detention of an Iranian Thursday in northern Iraq who was accused by the military of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias for use against American troops. Al-Maliki condemned the detention and said the man had been invited to Iraq. "The government of Iraq is an elected one and sovereign. When it gives a visa it is responsible for the visa," he said. "We consider the arrest of this individual who holds an Iraqi visa and a (valid) passport to be unacceptable." You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/78a0289d144c9ad56d6c358fde856cf3 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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